La frontera que se difumina y endurece. El espacio de influencia del salitre y los flujos transfronterizos Chile-Bolivia (1880-1930)
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Rev Cien Cult
Abstract
La industria del salitre que se implantó siguiendo los mantos de caliche en el desierto de Atacama (regiones de Tarapacá y Antofagasta) -a partir de mediados del siglo XIX- generó flujos transfronterizos de bienes y personas permitidos por los Estados nacionales de Bolivia y Chile. Éstos hicieron porosa la frontera durante el auge de dicha industria. El fenómeno posibilitó la formación de un "espacio salitrero" a partir de dicho polo de atracción industrial y de los nexos transfronterizos crearon un "espacio de influencia". En este artículo se analizan los flujos transfronterizos, donde circularon bienes culturales -tradicionales y modernos- permitiendo la existencia un espacio heterotópico en el desierto de Atacama. La frontera se caracterizó por líneas dendríticas (rutas, caminos, pasos, senderos, líneas férreas, etc.) hasta las grandes crisis (1914, 1919 y 1930) y el retorno de los pampinos bolivianos desde la pampa salitrera, cuando la frontera se cerró y endureció, transformándose en un límite geopolítico.
The saltpeter industry that was introduced following the caliche deposits located on the Atacama Desert (Tarapaca and Antofagasta regions) -from the middle of the 19th century- produced cross-border flows of goods and people that, allowed by the nation-states of Bolivia and Chile, convert it into a porous border during the peak of that industry. This phenomenon made possible the creation of a "salpeter space" from a pole of industrial attraction, and the cross-border links created an "space of influence". The article analizes the cross-border flows, where cultural goods were moved -traditional and modern- allowing the presence of an heterotopic space on the Atacama Desert. The border was characterized by dendritic lines (routes, roads, paths, trails, railways, etc.) until the great crisis (1914, 1919 and 1930) and the return of Bolivian people from the saltpeter pampas, when the border is closed (for good) and hardens, becoming a geopolitical border.
The saltpeter industry that was introduced following the caliche deposits located on the Atacama Desert (Tarapaca and Antofagasta regions) -from the middle of the 19th century- produced cross-border flows of goods and people that, allowed by the nation-states of Bolivia and Chile, convert it into a porous border during the peak of that industry. This phenomenon made possible the creation of a "salpeter space" from a pole of industrial attraction, and the cross-border links created an "space of influence". The article analizes the cross-border flows, where cultural goods were moved -traditional and modern- allowing the presence of an heterotopic space on the Atacama Desert. The border was characterized by dendritic lines (routes, roads, paths, trails, railways, etc.) until the great crisis (1914, 1919 and 1930) and the return of Bolivian people from the saltpeter pampas, when the border is closed (for good) and hardens, becoming a geopolitical border.
Description
Vol. 24, No. 44